Asia stocks mixed after Wall St falls, US bans Russian oil

BEIJING (AP) — Most Asian stock markets rebounded Wednesday following Wall Street's decline while Chinese shares sank after inflation edged higher.

Already high oil prices rose further, adding more than $2 per barrel following President Joe Biden's ban on imports of Russian crude.

Tokyo, Sydney and Southeast Asian markets gained. Shanghai and Hong Kong retreated. South Korean markets were closed for a presidential election.

Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index sank 0.7% on Tuesday amid enduring unease over the impact of Russian President Vladimir Putin's attack on Ukraine.

Asian markets “seem to be taking a breather” from their sell-off, but Wall Street’s retreat “may drive some wait-and-see as geopolitical risks show no signs of easing,” Yeap Jun Rong of IG said in a report.

The Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 1.1% to 3,258.17 after China’s government reported consumer prices rose 0.6% in February from the previous month and producer prices gained 0.5%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong slid 2.2% to 20,311.23.

“Inflation will pick up further” as prices of oil and other commodities rise due to the Ukraine war, Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a report. That “will have a much more pronounced impact on the March figures.”

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 0.8% to 24,982.81. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 climbed 1.2% to 7,064.10.

India's Sensex opened up 1% at 53,947.58. New Zealand and Southeast Asia markets advanced.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose $2.28 to $125.98 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract jumped $4.30 on Tuesday to $123.70.

Brent crude, the basis for international oil prices, gained $2.84 to $130.82 per barrel in London. It advanced $4.77 the previous...